Emre Can and Jürgen Klopp were unable to guide Liverpool to UEFA Europa League success on Wednesday in Basel. The Reds, who lead at the break, ended up losing the final 3-1 to Sevilla. Second half goals from Kevin Gameiro (46’) and Coke’s brace (64’, 70’) cancelled out Daniel Sturridge’s 35th minute opener. Sevilla have now won the tournament for three consecutive seasons and will be competing in the Champions League next season.
Sturridge’s screamer opens the scoring
The game got off to a lively start, with plenty of tough tackles flying in, however, the quality lacked early on. Can saw a lot of the ball and tried to create attacks for Liverpool, who have been champions of England on 18 occasions, but struggled to have an influence on the game.
The first chance of the game fell to Klopp’s men. Sturridge found himself in space inside the box but his effort was straight at Soria (25’). Sevilla striker Gameiro attempted an audacious overhead kick after 32 minutes but it drifted wide. That miss proved costly as Sturridge nonchalantly flicked the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the box to give Liverpool a half-time lead.
Sevilla race out of the traps
The defending champions were back on level terms just 18 seconds into the second half. Mariano’s powerful run ended with him teeing up Gameiro, who fired home from inside the six-yard box. He almost gave them the lead two minutes later but a last-ditch tackle from Kolo Touré prevented him from grabbing his second of the night.
Gameiro had another chance on the hour mark but his powerful effort was pushed over the bar by Simon Mignolet. Sevilla took the lead four minutes later though through Coke, who swept home from the edge of the box after a slick passing move. He grabbed a second moments later after beating the offside trap to wrap up victory for the Spanish side.
Emre Can and Jürgen Klopp were unable to guide Liverpool to UEFA Europa League success on Wednesday in Basel. The Reds, who lead at the break, ended up losing the final 3-1 to Sevilla. Second half goals from Kevin Gameiro (46’) and Coke’s brace (64’, 70’) cancelled out Daniel Sturridge’s 35th minute opener. Sevilla have now won the tournament for three consecutive seasons and will be competing in the Champions League next season.
Sturridge’s screamer opens the scoring
The game got off to a lively start, with plenty of tough tackles flying in, however, the quality lacked early on. Can saw a lot of the ball and tried to create attacks for Liverpool, who have been champions of England on 18 occasions, but struggled to have an influence on the game.
The first chance of the game fell to Klopp’s men. Sturridge found himself in space inside the box but his effort was straight at Soria (25’). Sevilla striker Gameiro attempted an audacious overhead kick after 32 minutes but it drifted wide. That miss proved costly as Sturridge nonchalantly flicked the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the box to give Liverpool a half-time lead.
Sevilla race out of the traps
The defending champions were back on level terms just 18 seconds into the second half. Mariano’s powerful run ended with him teeing up Gameiro, who fired home from inside the six-yard box. He almost gave them the lead two minutes later but a last-ditch tackle from Kolo Touré prevented him from grabbing his second of the night.
Gameiro had another chance on the hour mark but his powerful effort was pushed over the bar by Simon Mignolet. Sevilla took the lead four minutes later though through Coke, who swept home from the edge of the box after a slick passing move. He grabbed a second moments later after beating the offside trap to wrap up victory for the Spanish side.
